Exploring the relationship between learning approaches and problem-based learning: insights from a longitudinal study in medical students
While PBL is expected to promote deep learning, our findings show that in a real-world context, these benefits are not consistently realised. Learners adopted less favourable learning approaches over the year, with increasing reliance on surface learning and less deep motivation. Such shifts may be due to excessive workload, assessment burden or curriculum uncertainty. We have identified student groups that may be more vulnerable to the stresses of a PBL setting, which may represent targets for intervention. Future studies may also investigate curriculum adaptations to enhance deep learning in a PBL curriculum.
Authors
- Ioulia Televantou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9148-6637)
- Andrew W. Hitchings (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2802-1466)
- Peter McCrorie
- Persoulla Nicolaou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7532-4833)
- Alexia Papageorgiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5346-1527)
- Demetris Avraam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8908-2441)
- Stella A. Nicolaou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4216-4033)
- A. P. Albert
Institutions
- University of Nicosia (CY)
- European University Cyprus (CY)
- St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2025-04-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07171-1
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Problem and Project Based Learning
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 35.70
Funders
- Research and Innovation Foundation
- University of Nicosia